Flash-light apparatus.



PATENTED DEC. 24, 1907. J.E.HARE. FLASH LIGHT APPARATUS.

APPLIUATION FILED JAN 'I, 1907.

2 SHEETS-$33121 1.

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' PATENTED DEC. 24, 1907. J. E. HARE FLASH LIGHT APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED Jun], 1997.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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JOHN E. HARE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

FLASH-LIGHT APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Eatent.

Patented Dec. 24, 1907.

Application filed January 7. 1907. Serial No. 351,259.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN E. HARE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Flash-Light Apparatus, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawmgs.

My invention relates to photographic apparatus, and has particularly for its object to provide a new and improved apparatus for use in taking flashlight photographs.

As is well knovm, the use of flashlight powder has heretofore been attended with considerable risk to the operator, and, moreover, the apparatus heretofore employed has not been arranged to throw the light upon the subject to be photographed, but, on the contrary, to direct it upward regardless of the position of the subject to be photographed.

My improved apparatus, by which the objections above noted are avoided and various other advantages secured, consists in pro viding an improved holder having means for supporting and igniting flashlight powder contained in a sealed cartridge or envelop. This cartridge is arranged so that it may be put in place and ignited without being opengd, so that at no time is the powder 6X- ose P A further feature consists in so arranging the holder that the flash may be directed immediately upon the subject to be photographed, so that the full benefit of the flash is secured.

A still further important feature of my invention is that the holder is at all times be tween the operator and the cartridge, so that it affords a complete shield and insures his protection against injury from the ignition of the powder.

In addition to these more generic features of improvement my invention includes the provision of means by which the powder may readily be ignited, and of safety means by which accidental ignition of the powder may be guarded against, as well as other features which will appear in the following speciflcation.

In the accompanying drawings-Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved holder, showing the cartridge in place,.some parts being broken away; Fig. 2 is a section on line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the upper portion of the handle, showing the connections for closing the circuit through the fuse by which the flash powder is ignited; Fig. 4 is an under-side view of the parts shovm in Fig. 8; Fig. 5 is a substantially central vertical section of the apparatus Fig. 6 is a front view of the cartridge, part of the paper envelop being broken away; Fig. 7 is a vertical section on line 77 of Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is a detail view of a part of the cartridge, showing the fuse; and Fig. 9 is a partial vertical section on line 9-9 of Fig. 8.

Referring to the drawings,10 indicates a board or plate of wood, or other suitable material, normally in an upright position, although, as will hereinafter appear, it may be turned toany desired position. Said plate is provided at the lower portion of its rear side with a boX or case 11, as shown in Fig. 1, said case being designed to hold a suitable electric battery 12 by which the fuse is burned out, as will hereinafter appear.

13 indicates a handle, which is preferably upright, as shown in Fig. 1, and is connected at its lower end with the case 11 and at its upper end with the upper portion of the plate 10 by means of a bracket 14. The form and arrangement of the handle may, of course, be varied, as the details thereof are not es sential.

15 indicates a push-button carried by the handle, preferably in the upper end thereof,

as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, and normally held pressed upward by a spring 16,the latter being mounted in a block of suitable nonconducting material 17.

18 indicates a pin within the spring 16 and at its upper end connected with the pushbutton 15, as shown in Fig. 3. The lower end of the pin 18 is normally above and a short distance from two contact plates 19-20, respectively, secured to the block 17 and connected by wires 21-22. One of the wires 21 is connected with one of the terminals of the battery 12,the other wire 22 being connected with one of two metallic plates 2324 secured on the front side of the plate or board 10 near the central portion of the lower edge thereof, as shown in Figs. 2 and 6. As

shown, said plates 2324 are secured to the board or platel0 a short distance apart and are provided with up-turned lips so that the cartridge hereinafter described may be slipped down into engagement therewith. In other words, said plates 2324 form clips which receive and support the lower edge of the cartridge and also make electrical contact therewith, as will hereinafter appear. As has been ex lained, one of said plates 23 is connected with the contact plate 20 by means of the wire 22. The other plate 24 is connected by a wire 25 with the pivot 26 of a switch 27.

28 indicates a contact point adapted to be engaged by the switch 27 and connected by a wire 29 with the other terminal of the battery 12. It will thus be seen that when the switch 27 is in engagement with the contact point 28 and the push-button 15 is depressed so as to connect plates 19-20 by means of the pin 18, the plates 2324 are connected, respectively, with the opposite terminals of the battery, and by connecting them the circuit may be closed.

30 indicates the cartridge, consisting in its most improved form of a flat board or piece of cardboard having at its lower edge-a longitudinal corrugation 31 with which connect a series of vertical corrugations 32, as shown in Fig. 6. Stretched over one face of the cardboard is a sheet of tissue paper 33, or other suitable material, which is secured at its edges to the cardboard so that the sheet lies closely thereover. The tissue paper, or other envelop, is to hold the flash powder upon the cardboard, and the corrugations serve to hold the powder distributed over the cardboard so that it does not run together or accumulate in a mass.

At one edge of the cardboard, and near the center thereof in position to register with the plates 2324, are provided two contact plates 3435, preferably formed of clips, which embrace the lower margin of the cardboard, as shown in Fig. 9. At the front side of the cardboard'i. e. the side which is outermost or away from the plate 10the plates 3435 are connected by a piece of platinum wire, or other suitable fuse, 36, as shown in Figs. 6, 8 and 9. The arrangement is such that the clips or plates 3435 fit tightly between the plates or clips 2-324, respectively, the fuse 36 being on the outside. The powder being also on the outer surface of the cartridge, it will be evident that the fuse is enveloped by the flash powder lying in the horizontal or lower corrugation 31, and as it serves as a means of electrical connection between the plates 2324, when the circuit is closed by depressing the push-button 15 ,the switch 27 having been previously closed,-the current from the battery 12 passes through said fuse, burning it out, and consequently setting off the cartridge. For securing the upper portion of the cartridge in place, a spring clip 37 is provided at the upper part of the holder, as shown in Figs. 1, 5 and 6.

The use of the apparatus will be readily understood from the foregoing description, but by way of recapitulation it will be eX- plained that when a photograph is taken the operator places a cartridge in the holder, fitting its clips or contact plates 3435 in engagement with the plates 23-24 and securing its upper edge by the clip 37, so that the cartridge is held closely against the flat surface of the holder 10. At this time the safety switch 27 is preferably open, so that the powder will not be set off even if the push-button 15 is accidentally depressed. hen the cartridge has been put in place, the safety switch 27 is closed and the operator so holds the holder that the cartridge is directed toward the subject to be photographed, and this may readily be done regardless of the position of the subject, as the holder may be turned up or down, or to one side or another, with entire freedom. hen the picture is to be taken, the operator simply depresses the push-button, thereby closing the circuit through the fuse, which thereby at once ignites the flash powder.

It will be seen that the operator is at all times perfectly protected, and, moreover, the flash powder also is completely protected, so that the operation of the apparatus is not interfered with by wind, by agitation of the holder, or by any other cause which does not rupture the cartridge. Moreover, by putting up the flash powder in cartridges as described it may be very conveniently handled before it is placed in the holder, and the operator may readily equip himself with any desired number of cartridges. By means of my improved appa ratus, therefore, the operation of taking flashlight photographs is greatly simplified.

It will be understood that the various parts of the apparatus may be made of any suitable materials, although for the cartridge I prefer a cardboard base with a tissue paper envelop or cover, as the cardboard may readily be corrugated and is cheap, and the tissue paper does not interfere with the light caused by the ignition of the flash powder; also the character of the fuse may be varied,the term fuse being employed in the claims generically to indicate the device which acts immediately to ignite the powder, whether the fuse be a fuse strictly speaking, or some other equivalent device.

That which I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,

1. A flashlight apparatus, comprising a vertically-disposed plate having means for supporting a cartridge at one side thereof, said plate having electric contacts adaptec to engage corresponding contacts carried by the cartridge when the cartridge is in position on the plate, and means carried by the plate for closing the circuit through said contacts after the cartridge is in position.

2. A flashlight apparatus, comprising a vertically-disposed plate having means for supporting a cartridge at one side thereof, said plate having electric contacts adapted to engage corresponding contacts carried by the cartridge when the cartridge is in position on the plate, and a switch carried by the plate for closing the, circuit through said contacts after the cartridge is in position, and an auxiliary safety switch for preventing accidental closing of the circuit through the cartridge.

3. A flashlight apparatus, comprising a plate having means for securing a cartridge at one side thereof, a handle at the opposite side thereof, contacts carried by theplate and adapted to engage corresponding contacts carried by the cartridge for making electrical connection therewith, and a switch carried by the handle for closing the circuit through the cartridge.

4. A flashlight apparatus, comprising a plate having means for securing a cartridge at one side thereof, a handle at the opposite side thereof, contacts carried by the plate and adapted to engage corresponding contacts carried by the cartridge for making electrical connection therewith, a switch carried by the handle for closing the circuit through the cartridge, and a safety switch I l l carried by the plate for preventing accidental closing of the circuit through the cartridge.

5. A flashlight apparatus, comprising a plate, means at one side thereof adapted to engage the edges of a flat cartridge to secure said cartridge at one side of said plate, contacts carried by said plate and adapted to engage corresponding contacts carried by the cartridge, a handle at the opposite side of said plate, and means for closing the circuit through the cartridge.

6. A flashlight cartridge, comprising a flat board having a tissue paper envelop for confining the flash-powder upon the board, said board having a fuse embedded in the flashpowder, and contacts adapted to engage corresponding contacts on a suitable holder.

7. A flashlight cartridge, comprising a fiat board having corrugations and having a tissue paper envelop for confining the flashpowder upon the board, said board having a fuse embedded in the flash-powder, and contacts adapted to engage corresponding contacts on a suitable holder. I

JOHN E. HARE. Vitnesses:

JOHN L. JAoKsoN, MINNIE A. HUNTER. 

